A spare wheel assembly is an extra wheel assembly carried in a vehicle that can function as a replacement for a road wheel that is no longer capable of functioning. The spare wheel assembly may be carried in any of a number of locations on the vehicle, the most typical being in a spare wheel well formed in the trunk of the vehicle. However, spare wheel assemblies are frequently being carried under the rear of the vehicle attached by a cable that holds the wheel tightly against to the vehicle frame of the vehicle when stowed. This is the case because sport utility vehicles are increasingly the vehicle of choice for drivers. The cable is conventionally attached to a motor driven or hand cranked winch to regulate movement of the cable from its raised, wheel-stowed position to its lowered, wheel-accessible position when needed to replace a non-functioning road wheel.
While the winch arrangement for the raising and lowering of the spare wheel assembly has provided effective and proven reliability as a part of a spare wheel storage arrangement, known systems are always subject to further development. For example, during an impact event, the tension on the cable is frequently significantly higher than during normal use. The increased tension on the cable can lead to the cable breaking from cable tension or being cut on an edge of the vehicle's frame, body or winch.
Accordingly, it may be beneficial to release tension on the spare tire cable to prevent the cable from being overloaded with tension exceeding its breaking strength. If the cable pays out of the winch (thereby releasing tension) when tension is much higher than normal operating levels in a crash, the cable will not break and is unlikely to be cut on part of the vehicle.
As in so many areas of vehicle technology there is always room for improvement related to spare wheel assembly and winch designs for use with automotive vehicles.